[idrive]

I'm still really loving the Oversteer wheels. I've been looking at wheels and want something darker than the stock wheels on my 17 touring.


Would you describe the Opal as more silver or anthracite? Also, have they been hard to keep clean?

Def not Silver. More on the anthracite/gray side. Could probably get away with using "smoke" as a description for color as well.

I put a coat of wax on them before mounting and I must say they've been very easy to keep clean. Hide the dirt extremely well.

 

[dave_09]

Def not Silver. More on the anthracite/gray side. Could probably get away with using "smoke" as a description for color as well.

I put a coat of wax on them before mounting and I must say they've been very easy to keep clean. Hide the dirt extremely well.

Thanks. My car's black and I was originally leaning towards blacking out the whole vehicle, but those wheels are starting to sway my opinion. It's so hard to tell the detail in the black wheels. I went ahead and ordered the Tananbe springs last night. Hopefully, they'll be here next week.

 

[1BlinkGone]

This is a fabulous build thread, idrive. Thank you.

 

[1BlinkGone]

Interested in the choice of tires....Firestone has had a checquered history with safety in the past over the last few decades, so I never would consider them, normally. Those tires look good- the sidewall and tread both look good. I also see how your size selection somewhat protects the wheel's edge, unlike those who desire the "stretched look"(I'm not one of those).
Anything you can share about them, having ran them awhile now? And did you have the car aligned after all the mods?

BTW I'm looking at a particular wheel whose size is 19x8.5 5x114.3 +43...I have a feeling I can get away with the small variance from +45. What think ye? They are .95 lbs heavier per wheel (24.6 vs 23.65 if im reading the specs correct).. will this push me over or will I break even with the OEM unsprung weight? In light of the larger tires, I'm grudgingly willing to give a pound or two to the unsprung weight total of the car but would prefer to break even, if not save a few as you did.

Thanks!

 

[idrive]

Interested in the choice of tires....Firestone has had a checquered history with safety in the past over the last few decades, so I never would consider them, normally. Those tires look good- the sidewall and tread both look good. I also see how your size selection somewhat protects the wheel's edge, unlike those who desire the "stretched look"(I'm not one of those).
Anything you can share about them, having ran them awhile now? And did you have the car aligned after all the mods?

Fact is, I'm a Michelin Man. That's all I put on my DD and my transportation company vehicles but this being the Wife's car she doesn't push/drive the car anything like I do mine. Researching tires on Tirerack I was most amazed and impressed with the reviews Tireracks testing gave them. That and the price I figured it was worth giving them a shot.

I'm very pleased to say that IMO they are indeed an excellent tire and are living up tp their (excellent) reviews. I would have no problem recommending them to anyone as long as you're not looking for them to be an all season tire.

After finishing all the mods the car was run for approx. 500 miles and then taken in for an alignment. Wanted everything to have a chance to settle in. To everyone's surprise they were all (4) in spec. I believe they very slightly adjusted one of the rear wheels. I would have lost the bet that they would have needed brought back in to spec.

BTW I'm looking at a particular wheel whose size is 19x8.5 5x114.3 +43...I have a feeling I can get away with the small variance from +45. What think ye? They are .95 lbs heavier per wheel (24.6 vs 23.65 if im reading the specs correct).. will this push me over or will I break even with the OEM unsprung weight? In light of the larger tires, I'm grudgingly willing to give a pound or two to the unsprung weight total of the car but would prefer to break even if not save a few as you did.

Thanks!

You won't notice any difference between a +45 compared to a +43. The extra lb. per rim won't be noticeable.

 

[1BlinkGone]

You won't notice any difference between a +45 compared to a +43. The extra lb. per rim won't be noticeable.

Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed response, sir. I'm very encouraged!

 

[Kodo_6GT]

I love this thread and will be going with the Tanabe strut Tower Brace as well.. How does the car feel after the install?

 

[idrive]

The Tower Brace went on the same time as the Tanabe Springs. The brace certainly makes the car feel more solid/tight. There is no doubt you can feel the firmness, added rigidity.

The springs maintained the ride comfort while lowering the car. They have definitely helped with the body roll/dive going into the turns.

Very pleased with both of these products.

 

[toastymango]

idrive's Build

Dealer Installed
Stainless Door Sills (4)
All weather Floor Mats and Trunk Mat

Stage I
Full Paint Correction
Tinted Windows
Full Clear Bra
Display Screen "Protector"

Stage II
OEM:
Splash Guards - Front and Rear
Pedal Covers -Gas/Brake/Foot Rest

Stage III
Tanabe Springs - Front and Rear
Tanabe Front Tower Brace
Ultra Racing Rear Anti-Sway Bar

Stage IV Coming Soon.... Lots of research going on....
Tires and Rims


.

hi! really enjoying reading through your thread so far! what does full paint correction mean?

 

[tkorpus]

Thank you for this wonderful build thread! I would like to know if a 19x8.5 +50 offset wheel with a 255/40/19 tire will have clearance issues on the inside, especially with the steering wheel turned all the way to one side? I am stock height right now, but I also want to make sure it would not interfere if I put on the Tanabe springs for a 1" drop. It's the same setup that @idrive built on this thread, but 5mm closer on the inside.

 

[idrive]

Thank you for this wonderful build thread! I would like to know if a 19x8.5 +50 offset wheel with a 255/40/19 tire will have clearance issues on the inside, especially with the steering wheel turned all the way to one side? I am stock height right now, but I also want to make sure it would not interfere if I put on the Tanabe springs for a 1" drop. It's the same setup that @idrive built on this thread, but 5mm closer on the inside.

Howdy. :smile2:
The +50 offset should not pose a problem however to be sure I will take a look and measure both sides for clearance. Only problem is that will not be for a few days as the wife has the car visiting our daughter and won't be back for a few days.
I'm thinking the rims hitting the brakes would be more of a concern that rubbing on the inside.

Today is Saturday, she'll be back Tuesday night. I'll post up Weds.

Appreciate the comments.

 

[tkorpus]

Howdy. :smile2:
The +50 offset should not pose a problem however to be sure I will take a look and measure both sides for clearance. Only problem is that will not be for a few days as the wife has the car visiting our daughter and won't be back for a few days.
I'm thinking the rims hitting the brakes would be more of a concern that rubbing on the inside.

Today is Saturday, she'll be back Tuesday night. I'll post up Weds.

Appreciate the comments.

Thank you for your thoughts and willingness to help!

In addition to wheels and tires, I am planning to make similar upgrades to what you did in stage 3. Would you please tell me how or why you chose the Tanabe strut tower brace over the welded one by ultra racing? Does it not matter to be one solid piece? If not, why did you go with the solid ultra racing rear anti-sway bar rather than something adjustable like the CorkSport? Finally, do you know what the stock camber specs are and how the Tanabe spring drop affected your camber? Did you have to add Camber bolts to correct for the change? If I understand correctly from reading other threads on this forum, dropping this car will result in less negative camber up front than stock and the camber bolts would be used to add back the negative camber that was lost? Is that correct?

 

[idrive]

Thank you for your thoughts and willingness to help!

In addition to wheels and tires, I am planning to make similar upgrades to what you did in stage 3. Would you please tell me how or why you chose the Tanabe strut tower brace over the welded one by ultra racing? Does it not matter to be one solid piece? If not, why did you go with the solid ultra racing rear anti-sway bar rather than something adjustable like the CorkSport? Finally, do you know what the stock camber specs are and how the Tanabe spring drop affected your camber? Did you have to add Camber bolts to correct for the change? If I understand correctly from reading other threads on this forum, dropping this car will result in less negative camber up front than stock and the camber bolts would be used to add back the negative camber that was lost? Is that correct?

Good questions. Part of my decision(s) were directly from having done similar modifications to my 2006 S2000 (which I have just recently sold). These options have been discussed in great detail on the S2000 forum and are the reasons for going in the directions taken
.

Regarding the tower brace, because of the dynamics of the front end, struts- springs, tires etc. one size may not always be what is best. Mounting the bar the way I have described puts the correct pressure on the brace. Remember we are not replacing anything. we are adding/increasing the support. The rear is a replacement. We're not really adding anything just making the piece stronger. I felt like trying to adjust the rear end bar would be almost impossible to keep the same dynamics.

Camber etc. This was a strange one. After finishing I took the car over to have aligned. It is/was still in spec.After double checking everything we decided to just leave it alone and keep an eye on the tires to see how they were wearing. The tires were just rotated and balanced last week and the tire wear is perfect. In fact they still look like new. This is with 9K miles on them. The car has always tracked perfectly down the road regardless of the road, flat, crowned etc.
:smile2:

.

 

[tkorpus]

Good questions. Part of my decision(s) were directly from having done similar modifications to my 2006 S2000 (which I have just recently sold). These options have been discussed in great detail on the S2000 forum and are the reasons for going in the directions taken
.

Regarding the tower brace, because of the dynamics of the front end, struts- springs, tires etc. one size may not always be what is best. Mounting the bar the way I have described puts the correct pressure on the brace. Remember we are not replacing anything. we are adding/increasing the support. The rear is a replacement. We're not really adding anything just making the piece stronger. I felt like trying to adjust the rear end bar would be almost impossible to keep the same dynamics.

Camber etc. This was a strange one. After finishing I took the car over to have aligned. It is/was still in spec.After double checking everything we decided to just leave it alone and keep an eye on the tires to see how they were wearing. The tires were just rotated and balanced last week and the tire wear is perfect. In fact they still look like new. This is with 9K miles on them. The car has always tracked perfectly down the road regardless of the road, flat, crowned etc.
:smile2:

.

Thank you for your insight regarding the brace and bar. I'm not sure what you mean about difficulty with adjusting the rear end bar? There are just 2 sets of mounting holes for different stiffness settings. Do you happen to know how much stiffer the ultra racing anti-sway bar is than the stock one?

Good to know about your camber and tire wear experience. Did you happen to note the actual change in your front end camber (I presume that there must be some) even though you remained within spec? Can you tell me the camber range spec and how much your car has now (from your alignment report)? I can't help but think that by dropping the car 1", you must give up some stock negative camber, resulting in a negative performance impact, even if you remain within spec. I'm just trying to quantify this so I can decide if I want to add camber bolts. I prefer not to add them if they are unnecessary, but I will to avoid taking a performance hit.

 

[theoreticaljerk]

Simple question...did you trim bump stops with your Tanabe springs?

 

[idrive]

Simple question...did you trim bump stops with your Tanabe springs?

No sir.

 

[hamfz]

Not sure a better place to ask this. Any idea of the stock Mazda center caps will fit in the center cap location for those Konig Overdrives?

 

[TalonTsi90]

Stock caps are 56.87mm wide.

 

[augie05]

Great thread.... but a bit old. Would love to hear how the OP is enjoying the 6 with all of these mods two years later.

I just bought mine and already thinking about dumping the stock tires for the Conti tires that they OP used.